Chief Operations Officer, Old National Bancorp
Search every verified Jeff Newcom interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Jeff Newcom, chief operations officer at Old National Bank, discussed the evolving role of the COO in a podcast with Protiviti. He said that while the focus on automation, process improvement, and operating models has remained consistent over the past 15 to 20 years, the pace of change has accelerated due to technology and AI. Newcom stated that a significant portion of his recent work has involved assessing whether the organization has the right tools, people, and processes to capitalize on evolving technologies. Newcom noted that his board’s recent focus has included AI, scalability, infrastructure, and operating models, and that discussions have shifted toward strategic topics rather than compliance or review. He said that in banking, a highly regulated industry, the risk appetite for AI is lower than in tech firms, and that the organization is spending more time on governance and piloting use cases rather than execution. Newcom also emphasized that high-performing boards provide value through diverse perspectives and that board discussions are more meaningful when aligned with long-term strategic plans and performance measurement.
“Most organizations and COOs over the last 15 to 20 years were highly focused on things like automation, process improvement, operating models, and with technology and AI and innovation that's just moved at lightning speed. It's a lot of the same types of things, just a lot faster.”
“A significant amount of my time over the last year and a half is really focused on do we have the right tools and technology, do we have the right people, and do we have the right processes to make sure that when those technologies evolve, we can take advantage of those and capitalize on that in an efficient and effect...”
“Our board's focus recently has been around things like AI, but outside of AI, a lot of the questions are really around scale. Do you have the right infrastructure? Do you have the right operating model? Do you have the right people to scale? We're a very competitive industry with a lot of mergers and acquisitions and p...”
“From an operations standpoint, we really try and take people, process, and technology through the lens of the client and how does this impact the client. We're starting to see more clients want to consume our services in different ways. They want to be able to self-serve and get answers really fast without waiting for...”
Protiviti's David Petrucci discusses the COO transformation with Old National Bank's COO Jeff Newcom.
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